The Senate’s year-end to-do list is ‘going to be a train wreck’

The Senate is only scheduled to be in three weeks for the rest of 2021, with a recess set to start on December 10. There’s almost no chance that schedule holds at this point, with the Democratic majority facing a to-do list more daunting than a Black Friday sales rush. Congress has to fund the government past December 3, pass a massive defense policy bill, finish out a $1.75 trillion party-line social spending bill and potentially maneuver around a US credit default. Each of those four bills could take several days of Senate floor time, not to mention the myriad negotiations still left to hash out President Biden’s GOP-free domestic agenda with Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV), who wants to slow things down. Already some senators are anticipating a short-term government funding patch for a few weeks, potentially right up until Christmas. And in a worst-case scenario, the debt limit would need to be raised right around that same time — something Republicans say they won’t help with. While Democrats still sound bullish on closing out their social safety net and climate measure by Thanksgiving, 2022 may be the real hard deadline. That’s when Democrats’ expanded child tax credit expires anyway — and when lawmakers will really, truly be desperate to get home after months of protracted negotiations. Prior to leaving for this week's recess, senators acknowledged it’s possible they consider the defense policy bill before the social spending bill instead, given some of the outstanding hiccups they face finishing out Biden’s agenda.